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After launching three news routes on June 1, and announcing the start of operations on three more routes from July 1, SpiceJet will enhance frequency on the Hyderabad-Surat route, via Mumbai from July 10.

There will be a daily flight connecting Mumbai to Hyderabad via Surat. SpiceJet will take off from Mumbai at 1745, land in Surat at 1840; take off again at 1900 before landing in Hyderabad at 2110.

On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, flight SG 2671 will take off from Hyderabad for Surat at 0545 and arrive at 0735. The connection will take off at 0755 and land in Mumbai at 0850.

On Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, SpiceJet will take off from Hyderabad at 0510, land in Surat at 0700, take off for Mumbai at 0725 and land at 0830.

Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, said, “We have been working towards enhancing the network for Surat to ensure better connectivity with key metros. Hyderabad and Mumbai are key business centres drawing huge movements. In the absence of a daily direct flight on these routes up till now, SpiceJet is optimistic to attract huge demand from day one. We are thankful to the government of Gujarat and Hon. MP Shri. C. R. Patil for his support, which has enabled us to explore new flight between Mumbai and Surat.”

Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, said, “We have been working towards enhancing the network for Surat to ensure better connectivity with key metros. Hyderabad and Mumbai are key business centres drawing huge movements. In the absence of a daily direct flight on these routes up till now, is optimistic to attract huge demand from day one. We are thankful to the government of Gujarat and Hon. MP Shri. C. R. Patil for his support, which has enabled us to explore new flight between Mumbai and Surat.”

SpiceJet has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Bombardier for up to 50 Q400 aircraft. If the order goes through, it will be the single biggest order for the Q400 by an Indian airline, SpiceJet states in an official announcement.

“I am delighted to announce this new order for 50 Q400 planes. SpiceJet operates India’s largest regional fleet and is the only organised operator in this space. This order will help us further increase connectivity to smaller towns and cities and help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly,” said Ajay Singh – chairman and managing director of SpiceJet. “Our passengers will be able to fly to more cities and help expand India’s already booming aviation market.”

SpiceJet is one of five domestic carriers who are part of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), a government initiative to connect India’s under-served and unserved airports to larger metros, and make air travel affordable for the common man.

The Q400 is an 86-seater turboprop airplane best suited for short-to medium-haul routes. SpiceJet currently operates 20 Q400 aircraft in a 78-seat configuration to domestic and international destinations.

François Cognard, VP: Sales — South-Asia and Australasia said: “The Q400 is the largest turboprop aircraft available on the market and the 86-seat configuration will support SpiceJet develop its domestic operations from tier-2 and tier-3 cities across India. Our continued partnership sets the stage for a brighter future, and years of profitable and efficient operations for SpiceJet.”

On June 19, India’s low cost carrier SpiceJet and American aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for 40 737 MAX airplanes.

The deal is valued at US$4.74 billion at current list prices. It includes 20 pieces of 737 MAX 10, and will convert 20 of the airline’s 737 MAX 8 airplanes of its current order to 737 MAX 10s. SpiceJet will take delivery of its first 737 MAX in 2018.

With this order, SpiceJet aims to expand its operational fleet to 100 aircraft by 2020. It currently operates 35 Next-Generation 737s and 19 Bombardier Q400s.

A press release by the airline states that the entire 737 MAX family will be the most profitable single-aisle airplanes, enabling SpiceJet to offer the lowest seat costs to its passengers. The MAX 10 includes features such as the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, advanced technology winglets, Boeing Sky Interior and large flight deck displays.

Ajay Singh, the chairman and managing director at SpiceJet says, “As a Boeing 737 operator and current customer of the 737 MAX, we are proud to be a part of the launch of the 737 MAX 10 and to be the first airline in India to order the newest version of the 737, which will enable us to maximise revenue on our dense routes while having a lower unit seat cost. With the introduction of our 737 MAXs next year, we will be able to further expand our network, while keeping our costs low for our customers.”

Currently, T1 that has a capacity for 20 million passengers is handling 24 million passengers. By moving the low cost airlines to T2, the ministry hopes to reduce the load on T1 and begin work on its expansion well before winter.

The airlines have been hesitant to move as they fear a rise in operational costs.

In a strongly worded letter to the airlines, published by Hindustan Times yesterday who has a copy, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has said: “As a final opportunity, the airlines operating from T1 shall discuss the issue among themselves in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable situation in a month, by July 15, 2017. In case there is no consensus by July 15, the airport operator shall be free to decide the suitable course of action, which shall be binding on these airlines.”

Terminal 2 was renovated early last year so the low cost airlines could operate out of there. However, airlines have been hesitant to move as they fear a rise in operational costs.

Until 2016, T2 was used for international flights, which now operate out of Terminal 3 (T3). Since the carriers have been hesitant in moving to T2, the terminal remains under-utilised, serving Haj flights once a year.

Currently, Delhi Airport’s operational Terminals 1 and 3 are handling a total capacity of 62 million passengers per annum. International Terminal 3 is also reaching a stage of congestion, which the ministry hopes to ease by making T2 operational “before the commencement of winter schedule 2017”.

Effective from July 10, SpiceJet will launch flights on two new routes under the government’s UDAN scheme.

UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is a government initiative that aims to improve regional connectivity by air and make air travel affordable to Indians. Under this scheme, five airlines will operate on 128 routes, which connect 70 served, under-served and unserved airports.

Under UDAN’s Regional Connectivity Scheme’s (RCS’s) first phase, SpiceJet will launch daily direct flights between Mumbai and Porbandar, and Mumbai and Kandla.

Flight SG 2873 will depart from Mumbai for Porbandar at 0930 and arrive at 1045 (₹2,250 all inclusive fare). The return (non-RCS) flight will depart at 1105 and land back in Mumbai at 1220 (₹3,099 all inclusive fare).

Flight SG 2875 will depart from Mumbai at 1305 and arrive in Kandla at 1430 (₹2,500 all inclusive fare). It will take off again at 1510 and land in Mumbai at 1650 (₹2,500 all inclusive fare).

Ajay Singh – CMD, SpiceJet said, “I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly. UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come.”

Effective from July 10, SpiceJet will launch flights on two new routes under the government’s UDAN scheme.

UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is a government initiative that aims to improve regional connectivity by air and make air travel affordable to Indians. Under this scheme, five airlines will operate on 128 routes, which connect 70 served, under-served and unserved airports.

Under UDAN’s Regional Connectivity Scheme’s (RCS’s) first phase, SpiceJet will launch daily direct flights between Mumbai and Porbandar, and Mumbai and Kandla.

Flight SG 2873 will depart from Mumbai for Porbandar at 0930 and arrive at 1045 (₹2,250 all inclusive fare). The return (non-RCS) flight will depart at 1105 and land back in Mumbai at 1220 (₹3,099 all inclusive fare).

Flight SG 2875 will depart from Mumbai at 1305 and arrive in Kandla at 1430 (₹2,500 all inclusive fare). It will take off again at 1510 and land in Mumbai at 1650 (₹2,500 all inclusive fare).

Ajay Singh – CMD, SpiceJet said, “I am delighted that SpiceJet is helping realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly. UDAN is a grand scheme and we are proud to be amongst the pacesetters for the scheme. It has been our constant endeavour to enable the common man to fly since we began operations 12 years back. We will connect many more small towns and cities in times to come.”

SpiceJet has introduced e-Gate facility at Bengaluru Airport. Passengers can board by scanning their boarding passes (soft or hard copy) at an automated e-Gate present at the boarding area.

It is the first Indian airline to introduce this facility that completes the entire process of boarding in just a few minutes compared to 25-30 minutes.

e-Gate facility has been implemented in association with Australia-based Elenium Automation.

“At BIAL, we are constantly working on new technologies that will, in turn, help airlines provide a superlative service to their customers. The e-Gate boarding facility is one such innovation that will enable passenger delight,” says Hari Marar, president – airport operations at Bengaluru Airport.

SpiceJet has introduced e-Gate facility at Bengaluru Airport. Passengers can board by scanning their boarding passes (soft or hard copy) at an automated e-Gate present at the boarding area.

It is the first Indian airline to introduce this facility that completes the entire process of boarding in just a few minutes compared to 25-30 minutes.

e-Gate facility has been implemented in association with Australia-based Elenium Automation.

“At BIAL, we are constantly working on new technologies that will, in turn, help airlines provide a superlative service to their customers. The e-Gate boarding facility is one such innovation that will enable passenger delight,” says Hari Marar, president – airport operations at Bengaluru Airport.

SpiceJet has introduced a e-Gate facility at Bengaluru Airport that allows passengers to scan their boarding passes (soft or hard copy) at an automated e-Gate present at the boarding area.

It is the first Indian airline to introduce this facility that completes the entire boarding process within ten minutes, compared to the usual 25-30 minutes approximately.

“At BIAL, we are constantly working on new technologies that will, in turn, help airlines provide a superlative service to their customers. The e-Gate boarding facility is one such innovation that will enable passenger delight,” says Hari Marar, president – airport operations at Bengaluru Airport.

SpiceJet is the second Indian airline after Jet Airways to offer Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as a payment option to its customers.

The UPI payment solution has been launched by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) and is regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Through the UPI app, customers may initiate payment requests, and make transactions directly from their bank account via the UPI ID to different merchants. It doesn’t require card details or account numbers.

In this case, the airline’s partner bank is HSBC India.

A press release by the airline reads: “SpiceJet acknowledges UPI as a leap forward in the digitisation of the economy in the millennia and with the integration in place, the company resonates with the government’s drive towards a digital economy. With the launch, SpiceJet will become one of the key merchants to accept payments via UPI.”

Divyesh Dalal the managing director and head global liquidity and cash management of HSBC India says, “This has been a key project for SpiceJet considering their on-going focus towards digitisation and delivering a seamless customer experience. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with SpiceJet basis our UPI proposition, which will allow SpiceJet customers to seamlessly pay for bookings done through their website. With UPI adoption witnessing significant growth in quarter ending March 2017, we believe that SpiceJet can use our offering to drive sales.”

SpiceJet is the second Indian airline after Jet Airways to offer Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as a payment option to its customers.

The UPI payment solution has been launched by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) and is regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Through the UPI app, customers may initiate payment requests, and make transactions directly from their bank account via the UPI ID to different merchants. It doesn’t require card details or account numbers.

In this case, the airline’s partner bank is HSBC India.

A press release by the airline reads: “SpiceJet acknowledges UPI as a leap forward in the digitisation of the economy in the millennia and with the integration in place, the company resonates with the government’s drive towards a digital economy. With the launch, SpiceJet will become one of the key merchants to accept payments via UPI.”

The flight SG1072 departs from Mangaluru at 1450 and lands in Hyderabad at 1630, while flight SG1071 departs from Hyderabad at 1300 and arrives in Mangaluru at 1430. The airline operates its Q400 aircraft for this service, that accommodates 80 passengers.

The flight SG1072 departs from Mangaluru at 1450 and lands in Hyderabad at 1630, while flight SG1071 departs from Hyderabad at 1300 and arrives in Mangaluru at 1430. The airline operates its Q400 aircraft for this service, that accommodates 80 passengers.

The airline has described the DIAL announcement as “misleading”. In a letter to DIAL CEO, Prabhakara Rao, SpiceJet’s co-founder Ajay Singh wrote: “It (the announcement) may and might have impacted SpiceJet’s business interest. Please note that DIAL will be fully responsible if there has been or is any impact, in the future, on SpiceJet’s business on account of these misleading media reports.”

The airline has refused to relocate to Terminal 2 citing inconvenience to customers as the primary reason.

The airline has described the DIAL announcement as “misleading”. In a letter to DIAL CEO, Prabhakara Rao, SpiceJet’s co-founder Ajay Singh wrote: “It (the announcement) may and might have impacted SpiceJet’s business interest. Please note that DIAL will be fully responsible if there has been or is any impact, in the future, on SpiceJet’s business on account of these misleading media reports.”

The airline has refused to relocate to Terminal 2 citing inconvenience to customers as the primary reason.

The airline has described the DIAL announcement as “misleading”. In a letter to DIAL CEO, Prabhakara Rao, SpiceJet’s co-founder Ajay Singh wrote: “It (the announcement) may and might have impacted SpiceJet’s business interest. Please note that DIAL will be fully responsible if there has been or is any impact, in the future, on SpiceJet’s business on account of these misleading media reports.”

The airline has refused to relocate to Terminal 2 citing inconvenience to customers as the primary reason.